Rod Joseph, a Republican congressional candidate in a Broward district that\u2019s home to communities with large numbers of LGBTQ residents, believes that everyone is \u201cborn straight\u201d and some people become LGBTQ by choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot be born gay. That\u2019s impossible biologically,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Joseph said sexuality is a preference, not an inherent orientation. \u201cSexual preference from the Roman Empire to date, it\u2019s always a preference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joseph, in an interview Tuesday, also said he is concerned that people are somehow indoctrinated or influenced to become LGBTQ. \u201cMost of the people, they\u2019re victims of sexual abuse at the very young age.\u201d<\/p>\n
To support his view that individuals choose their sexual orientation, Joseph said people should \u201clook at the natural habitat. You never see a lion that mate(s) with a male lion for life. You never see a giraffe, a male giraffe, that mate(s) with a giraffe. Myself right now saying I am a giraffe, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 2025 documentary, \u201cAnimal Pride: Nature\u2019s Coming Out Story,\u201d and a 2024 documentary, \u201cQueer Planet,\u201d reported there are, indeed, giraffes, lions and other animals that engage in same-sex behavior.<\/p>\n
Joseph is one of four Republicans seeking their party\u2019s nomination in the 20th Congressional District in Broward County. Three of the four participated in a group interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board on Tuesday, during which Joseph offered his views on sexuality in response to questions from an opinion writer and a news reporter.<\/p>\n
The district includes Wilton Manors, the unofficial capital of the LGBTQ community in South Florida, plus the Victoria Park neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale and the city of Oakland Park, which both have large numbers of LGBTQ residents.<\/p>\n